Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Disabled bowlers back in the game

The United States Bowling Congress has approved the invention as a bowling tool.

By LESLIE PAREDES
Published October 12, 2005

TAMPA - The contraption fits onto the front of a wheelchair like a kid's playground slide.

The bowling ball balances on top, nestled between two guides that hold it on its intended path as it slides down toward the lane.

Then, a fit of acceleration from the wheelchair and a quick jolting stop send the ball rolling. The pins crash, and all is right with the world.

It's called the Bowler, and the IKAN Sports Foundation, which created it, hopes that soon many local wheelchair users will get behind their invention and get back into the game of life.

The foundation, based in Brandon, grew from the idea that many people who are quadriplegic feel that an active life is far from their reach, said Vince Tiefer, the foundation chairman.

"When people become disabled in this way, so many friends desert them." Tiefer said. "This gets them back out there, with their caregivers and old friends or making new friends."

When Bill Miller, a quadriplegic, and Claude Giguere, a retired engineer, came up with the idea of the Bowler, they wanted quadriplegics to realize that their disability didn't have to be prison.

After an injury that dislocated two spinal vertebra, Miller, 28, says he embraced the hardship of going from being able-bodied to being disabled by acting as a spokesman for the Bowler and a motivational speaker at schools and shelters across the country.

"People are always so impressed that I continue to live life," Miller said. "I don't find that so impressive; I'm just living like anyone else would."

The Bowler caught on almost immediately. According to Tiefer, people who hadn't left their beds in months were out bowling with the help of the apparatus.

"We had a 3-year-old behind one of the Bowlers at one of our demonstrations, and when he was done all he could say was, "I want to bowl, Mommy. I want to bowl,' " Tiefer said. "It's amazing what this can do for people."

The Bowler has been approved by the United States Bowling Congress as an acceptable bowling tool. This means that any bowler using this accessory can play against an able-bodied bowler, even if it's a national tournament.

Being sanctioned by the USBC opened up other opportunities for the IKAN Foundation. It has created leagues throughout the United States. A local league is set to start up in December.

It also hopes that bowling with the help of the Bowler will become a sanctioned sport for the 2012 Paralympics in London.

"It's not that I'm cheating by using this," said Miller, whose high score is a 199, "It's still all the bowler's skill, the bowler's execution, the bowler's accuracy."

The IKAN Sports Foundation ultimately hopes that the Bowler will be readily accessible at all bowling centers throughout the United States, so that quadriplegics won't have to buy the $1,400 accessory.

"When you go bowling, they have shoes for you, don't they," asked Tiefer. "Well, we want them to have Bowlers, too, so that everyone can play."

Leslie Paredes can be reached at 813 226-3339 or lparedes@sptimes.com

[Last modified October 12, 2005, 00:18:12]